


Sick

by orphan_account



Series: Tumblr Prompts/Requests [6]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-25 01:57:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6175852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kageyama plays in a practice match despite being sick. It doesn't work out so well for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sick

**Author's Note:**

> Am I back from a mini hiatus???! Dunno, but I saw this prompt in my ask box and suddenly I had a completed fic saved to my computer in about an hour. I think it's because the prompt was all about that sick Kags, and I'm all about that sick Kags. 
> 
> Also, dear prompter, I actually couldn't work in a pairing because I didn't think there needed to be one with this prompt. Although you could probably take this as a Kageyama/Ukai mentor relationship fic if you really wanted to?

_I don’t … I don’t feel so good …_

Kageyama unsuccessfully tries to shake off the horrible churning of his stomach, but that only succeeds in making him feel more lightheaded than ever. The whistle blows and he knows a serve is coming, yet he can’t concentrate on it.

 _Please don’t let them hit it over here_ , he thinks.

Again and again he’s being proved wrong; he _can’t_ keep playing like this. It’s the second set of their practice match and he feels himself growing weaker by the second. He sways when he stands upright, so he’s forced to stay hunched down so nobody else notices.

_I think I’m gonna vomit …_

“Kageyama, it’s yours!” shouts Daichi.

The ball’s coming, flying in Kageyama’s direction. It’s not gonna come straight to him though, it’s gonna hit the ground a foot in front of him. He races forward, hands outstretched, ready to scoop up the ball—

“ _Kageyama_!”

Kageyama opens his eyes, blinking up at the ceiling. He’s lying on his back (when did he fall over?) and his teammates are surrounding him, staring down with fear and concern in their eyes. What happened?

“You fainted,” says Takeda-sensei, and Kageyama wonders if he spoke aloud. Takeda-sensei presses a cold hand to Kageyama’s forehead. “No, he’s definitely got a fever, so he’ll have to come off.”

“Sugawara-kun!” Ukai-san shouts. “We’re switching you in, start warming up!”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone you were sick?” Daichi-san demands of Kageyama. “You shouldn’t have forced yourself to play if you couldn’t.”

“Yeah!” Tanaka-san pipes up. “It’s only a practice match, Kageyama.”

“Don’t die, Kageyama!” Hinata cries. “We’ll win this match, so you can’t die, okay?”

“Dumbass, I’m not gonna die,” Kageyama mumbles. He starts to sit up, and his teammates move back. Asahi-san wraps an arm around his shoulders, helping him to sit upright. “It’s just a little dizzy spell, I’m fine—”

He stands up, and another dizzy spell hits.

“ _Whoa_!”

Daichi-san and Asahi-san lunge forward, catching Kageyama before he hits the floor. There’s someone behind Kageyama too, digging their shoulder into his spine. A glance behind him shows Nishinoya-san’s the culprit.

“Steady on, Kageyama!” shouts Nishinoya-san, grinning his shark-like grin.

“No, you’re definitely coming off,” says Daichi-san seriously. “We’re not letting you play in this condition.”

He and Asahi-san support Kageyama over to the bench. Yamaguchi rushes over with a towel as Kiyoko-san hands Kageyama a bottle of water.

“Sip on it,” she tells him. “Don’t drink too much at once, or you’ll make yourself sick.” She pauses, then adds, “Well, more sick than you are already.”

“Here.” Yamaguchi proffers the towel, a nervous smile spreading across his twitching lips. “You played really well, Kageyama, even if you are sick.”

Kageyama takes the towel, saying, “Thank you” before he buries his face in it. He can’t believe he fainted on the court. How embarrassing.

When the game resumes, Ukai-san sits next to Kageyama, puts a hand on his shoulder and says seriously, “If you pull this stunt a second time and I find out about it, you’re gonna be benched for the preliminaries.”

Kageyama shoots upright, gaping at Ukai-san, ignoring the dizzy spell that follows.

“No, don’t try to argue with me.” Ukai frowns down at Kageyama, who squirms when he realises the emotion in Ukai-san’s eyes is disappointment. “You’ve got to take better care of yourself and admit when you can’t play. There’s no shame in having to sit out for a game. Athletes have to take care of themselves.”

“But it was just a small bug,” Kageyama protests. “I really thought I could play—”

“Today it was a small bug that wound up with you passing out on the court,” says Ukai-san sharply. “Tomorrow could be a minor injury that turns into a major one because you thought it didn’t need time to heal. Hundreds of sports careers have been cut short because they didn’t want to give themselves time. Do you want that to happen to you?”

Kageyama wilts. “N-no …”

“That’s why I’m telling you I’ll bench you for the preliminaries if you pull something like this again. You’ve got too much talent and your future is too bright to squander by being stupid about self-care. If this is the only way to make you care a little more about your health and future, so be it.”

Ukai-san turns his attention back to the game, ending the conversation.

“Nice one, Sugawara-kun!” he shouts. “Hinata, move forward! Cover for him!”

Kageyama honestly never thought of it like that. He’s not the kind of person that thinks ahead to his future; he’s the type of person who focuses on the here and now, doing what needs to be done now without worrying about the consequences of his decisions.

“S-sorry …,” he mumbles.

Ukai-san blinks down at him, surprised. “What?”

“I’m sorry,” says Kageyama. “I never thought of it like that. I didn’t … I didn’t think it would do any harm to pretend I wasn’t sick. I won’t—I won’t do it again.”

There’s a pause, then Ukai-san’s face cracks into a grin. He slaps Kageyama on the back and says, “Just as long as you understand now, it’s fine.”

Karasuno wins the practice match in no time. When they head back to the bus not long later to return to the school, Kageyama’s supported by Hinata and Tanaka-san, both of whom grip his elbows and shout into his ears, excitedly recounting the match.

As Kageyama looks around at his team—coach, advisor, managers and teammates—he feels so lucky to be here, and for the first time he’s glad that he failed the Shiratorizawa entrance exam.

**Author's Note:**

> If it wasn't apparent, this fic is set just before the Inter-High. Pretend they had another match with a random team from a random school.


End file.
